When you see David Zurek handcrafting perfect little wooden spinning tops on his lath at LRNow’s Holiday Market Sunday, you will find it hard to believe that only a week ago he was working with a chain saw to fell huge oak trees, clear debris and repair homes around Ashville, N.C. after Hurricane Helene.

But working with wood in any form is David’s lifelong passion, from wood turning as a hobby for 60 years, to owning a construction company as a profession, to disaster relief mission work in retirement.

Last week, he returned from his trip with the Virginia Baptist Disaster Relief Team and put away his lumberjack attire to get ready for the Holiday Market from noon to 4 p.m. at New Realm Brewery, 1209 Craft Lane in Virginia Beach.

David will join other artists and crafters who will have items such as jewelry, clothing, art and wood creations for sale that day. In addition to bringing his hand turned wooden bowls and platters to the market, he will demonstrate the fine art of wood turning as he creates spinning tops on the spot. He will give the tops away to children who want one.

“But children usually don’t know what a spinning top is!” he said.

Watch the video below to see David at work at his small lathe in his garage workshop as he turns a rectangular block of wood into one of those tops. As the electric lathe turns the wood round and round, David shapes the top with a hand tool called a bowl gouge. (The turning motion of the lathe is what gave wood turning its name.)

Before he retired, David owned the Artisan Building Group, a commercial builder in Virginia Beach. Now he calls his work Zurek’s Wood Turning, and instead of shaping wood into buildings, he’s shaping wood into artistic creations.

Zurek only uses wood that he recovers from trees, felled by disease, storm damage, or construction work. When he sees wood that looks promising by the side of the road, he stops to pick it up.

“Or friends will call me,” he said.

In North Carolina, David spent his week working with others to cut down primarily massive oaks, that landed on houses and driveways. They all wore yellow tee shirts to set them apart from looters. See David on the left in this photo.

“The oaks were still in full leaf, and the wind took them down like a big sail, in all that wet soil,” David said.

As he worked, he did come across a piece of black walnut  that he could bring home in his car. Perhaps, he will have created a bowl or two from the walnut and they will be for sale at LRNow’s Holiday Market next year!

Find out more about the Holiday Market here: https://www.lynnhavenrivernow.org/events/holiday-market/